Purpose: In the last few years, the interest on professional identity development (PID) and the factors that influence PID has become central in higher education (HE) literature. However, the knowledge developed in this domain has focussed on a factor at a time and on a degree or discipline, thus being difficult to have a general picture of all…

Drawing from social-ecological systems theory, the authors argue that current research on childhood bullying would benefit from analyses that consider the mesosystem--specifically, how teacher-student relationships can influence children's bullying experiences. The authors provide two theoretical conceptions for how children's peer interactions…

In this article, I critically reflect on my own learning during a community-based, service-learning pilot project, highlighting the multiple roles that were required of me as facilitator. I provided opportunity for student teachers in a Creative Arts module to engage with youth from a local township community. The purpose of the participatory…

Self-directed learning (SDL), while essential to graduate student success and continued professional development beyond the degree, is rarely addressed intentionally in the college curriculum. In this mixed-method study with 91 participants from two counseling-related degree programs, researchers examined the impact of integrating a unit focused…

Professional identity development is an emerging area for alcohol and drug counselors. Few studies have investigated professional identity in alcohol and drug counselors (Ogborne, Braun, & Schmidt, 2001; Massella, Simons, Young, Haas, & Toth 2013). The goal of the current study is to add to this area of research. A total of 1,333 certified…

This descriptive study investigated the challenges related to implementing gifted education services in preschool centers. Participants were 254 licensed preschool center directors in a southern state. Participants completed a researcher-created survey including both selected response items and constructed response items to examine the perceived…

There are international calls for teacher preparation programs to increase the quantity and quality of field experiences. The belief is that spending additional time in the field being mentored by inservice teachers will develop high-quality preservice teachers. However, the figured worlds of teacher education and the knowledge base of inservice…

Early career psychologists (ECPs) are considered a distinct professional group that faces unique career challenges. Despite recent organizational efforts to increase engagement of these individuals, little is known about the professional development needs and training interests of ECPs, particularly within psychology's subfields. As such, this…

The role of principals, especially in rural schools, where educational outcomes fall below the national average, is significant in implementing changes in the school. The focus of this qualitative study was to explore factors that principals deem most crucial to establishing and maintaining Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Moreover,…

As scrutiny of teacher effectiveness increases, there is a greater call for multiple instruments to measure teacher effectiveness and provide robust feedback to support teacher growth and development. Student perception surveys, questionnaires completed by K-12 students about their teachers, have increasingly been used to evaluate teachers and…

Despite efforts to positively impact educational outcomes for underrepresented youth, the achievement gap persists in the United States. Underrepresented youth are students representing lower socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, or language minority populations that are underrepresented in higher educational attainment relative to their numbers in the…

A state department of education requested information about other states' efforts implementing Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs). Reviewing experiences from other states implementing KEAs will help inform stakeholder discussions and decision points as they procure a KEA tool; specifically, identifying key data points and reporting; and…

Environmental factors, personal experience, and social interactions influence the development of teacher candidates' views of teachers' roles in school and society (Rose, Monda-Amaya, & Preast, 2018). This is especially true when we consider the unique needs of each generation of teachers. Ecological systems theory and social cognitive theory…

This study aimed at exploring the factors affecting classroom teachers' job performance. Maximum variation sampling was used to select the study group. 72 teachers working at primary schools in a province in Eastern Turkey participated in a qualitative dominant mixed-methods study incorporating a qualitative case study and Q methodology. The data…

In an effort to address K-8 teacher confidence in STEM and increase basic genetics knowledge to a level consistent with its importance in society, we have developed, implemented, and evaluated a 7-day teacher professional development workshop. The overarching goal of our workshop is to facilitate the implementation of innovative DNA-based…